I was brought up in a house full of labs, and the only collar i ever saw was in the adds in Outdoor life and Field and Stream , apparently they were to stop dogs from barking !
Grew up through the years with a check chord and a soft or strong voice, and using James Lamb Free's training techniques- only because that was was I was taught to use!
Never used an E collar until my son got his GSP, and it gets used very little.
He has a passion for chasing deer however, and if he thinks he can get away with it, he does!!
The collar I like best however is the one I got from Dan King from the 28 Gauge Society, with it's audio locator.
Our bush up here is thick and at times Louie has locked up on birds in thick cat tails as well, and without the locator he would probably still be on point!!
Cat